


Maybe It's Not Perfect But Maybe That's Okay

by Hotyoghurtonametalbin



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adoption, But if that happens I'll update the tags, Dadza, Fluff, Gen, I just want them to be happy okay, I'm Bad At Tagging, If I'm projecting no I'm not, Light Angst, Not Beta Read, Please tell me if I missed anything, Probably very OOC, Ranboo adoption arc pog, Unless I decide to be mean, Unless you consider reading this over once while sleep deprived beta reading, probably some swearing, sbi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-28 07:27:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30136068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hotyoghurtonametalbin/pseuds/Hotyoghurtonametalbin
Summary: Ranboo gets adopted.(I know the title sounds kinda angsty but I swear that's not how the fic is)
Relationships: None
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> This is my second published fic ever so yeah, yikes  
> If any of the cc's express any discomfort with these kinds of works I'll take this down immediately  
> Also updates will pretty much be whenever I have a chapter written, I know that kinda sucks I'm sorry

Ranboo had been being passed around in the foster care system for as long as he could remember, not that that was particularly impressive considering how terrible his memory had become. His social worker had mentioned memory loss as a result of trauma, a suggestion which he had elected to ignore. And who could blame him really, what sixteen year old kid can focus on resolving their deep seated issues when they don’t even have a stable place to stay? No, Ranboo was much more focused on just making it from each day to the next with as little issue as possible. 

He moved around from home to home, never complaining but never settling either. No where he went felt quite… right. Not that he could have told you what would feel right, he certainly didn’t know. He just knew that wherever he was supposed to be, he hadn’t made it there yet. And so, when he was told that he would once again be moving to a new home, he just nodded his head and packed up the few things he had. He hardly expected to be there long anyway, it’s not like he’d lasted more than a year anywhere else. 

When his new foster dad picked him up he knew he was a little too fidgety, knew he clutched his bag a little too tight when the man offered to take it for him, but the man didn’t seem to mind. He introduced himself as Phil, and Ranboo thought he seemed... nice. He didn’t force Ranboo to sit in the front seat on the way home like some of his previous guardians did and he didn’t seem to mind that Ranboo couldn’t quite bring himself to make conversation, instead opting to tell him about his three other boys at home. He explained that he’d adopted all of them separately, first Wilbur, then Techno and finally, Tommy. He told him that they were all close in age to him, with Tommy being sixteen and Wilbur and Techno being eighteen. He also warned him that they could be a bit much sometimes but that they meant well and no one would be offended if he needed some time out from their high energy. 

It was a fairly long drive but it wasn’t as awkward as Ranboo had feared. Phil was always happy to fill the silence with stories, not minding if Ranboo was actually listening or not. When they finally pulled into the driveway Ranboo could see a face quickly moving from the window, as if to act like they were never keeping watch for Phil’s return. He wasn’t going to mention it but Phil seemed to notice it too, letting out a fond chuckle,

“Don’t mind them mate, they’ve been excited about someone new coming to stay. But I’ll fend em’ off if they get too amped up.”

And despite himself, Ranboo felt a small smile on his face. 

As they entered the house Phil looked to see all three of his boys sitting in the living room, trying to look nonchalant, as if they didn’t have their faces pressed to the window for the past half an hour at least, keeping watch for the car.

_Happens every time_

He thought fondly, and it was true. He still remembered the excitement Wilbur had when he brought home Techno and then the way Techno joined in when it was Tommy’s turn to arrive for the first time. 

But as much as Phil joked about his boys being excitable and over the top, he trusted them to welcome Ranboo properly. After all, they all knew that feeling. The feeling of arriving at a new house for the first time, full of people you’d never met and have no idea how long you’ll be staying with. 

Phil saw the nervousness in all of them when he picked them up, but Ranboo had to be the worst of them. He may not have commented, but Ranboo’s fidgeting, his reluctance to talk, his feelings of protection of the few items he had left, certainly hadn’t escaped Phil’s notice. But the biggest concern for Phil was the fear in his eyes. All of his boys had looked apprehensive, sure, but Ranboo actually looked afraid. It was a sight that broke Phil’s heart and made him abandon any regret he may have had about agreeing to foster another kid, even though he had said many a time that he was done. He had three boys of his own now after all. But when he got the phone call he just couldn’t say no. Not after he was told about the way this kid was passed around the system, never finding a proper place to stay. Phil knew he was a last resort, even if the social worker hadn’t said it.

Not that anyone was particularly surprised when he said he was fostering another kid. He may have banged on about how he couldn’t take anymore and three was enough etc etc, his boys had still known exactly what he was going to say as soon as he sat them down. In fact they'd been excited, a fact that deeply relieved Phil. He had been so worried that they would be upset, that they wouldn’t want another person staying with them. To have their full support meant the world to him, Phil really did love his boys more than anything else in the world. 

And as he watched them all welcome Ranboo with big smiles but remarkably quiet voices he felt like everything was going to work out.

“Welcome home Ranboo.”


	2. Restless nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, slight CW for a panic attack in this chapter. It's nothing major and it's told from an outside perspective but I thought I'd let you guys know. Look after yourselves <3

Ranboo sat in his new room in Phil’s house. He’d been told it was opposite Tommy’s, or was it Techno’s? He hadn’t exactly been giving his full attention on the tour. He could hear loud laughter from downstairs where the rest of them were playing some sort of game. They’d invited him to join but he’d declined. He’d shut himself in his room pretty much as soon as the house tour was over. He felt guilty about not joining them for dinner and even guiltier that Phil had still brought him up a plate that he hadn’t even touched, but he just… couldn’t. Another burst of laughter echoed up though the floor and he felt the slightest hint of regret about not accepting the offer to join them, but he knew that he wasn’t ready for that yet. Interacting with and trusting just Phil was hard enough, let alone a group of loud teenagers.

Still, they did all seem nice. They had all been welcoming and they hadn’t even been that loud or overwhelming. But Ranboo could tell the latter was for his sake, he felt guilty that they had to be something they weren’t just for him but he was grateful all the same. They were definitely correct in their assumption that he wasn’t ready for that. 

Before going to sleep he pulled out his trusty diary and his last pen that was fast running out of ink. He ran his fingers over the familiar words ‘Do Not Read’ scratched into the cover before he opened it to the next empty page. Ranboo considered the blank sheet in front of him. Since his memory started slipping he’d taken to writing down all the important things that happened to him each day, but that night he was stuck. There were so many things that had happened that he didn’t know how to put it all into words, but a part of him felt like he would remember this day for a long time, even without his book. Wanting to write something all the same, he scribbled down a few loose notes of the events before finally turning off the light and slipping into bed. 

In the living room, Phil and the boys were playing what would usually be a very aggressive game of monopoly. Tonight was different however, which isn’t to say that it was calm, that would be a near impossible feat with this family (Or any family, I mean c’mon, it’s _monopoly _). But no one was quite as enthusiastic as usual. They’d all expected this of course, after all, they’d all shut themselves away their first few nights with Phil and it was always the same, with everyone else sitting in the living room together, trying to play a game and not worry too much. You could hardly say they were succeeding though. The amount of times everyone had to be reminded to take their turn because they were too busy staring up at the ceiling as if they would be able to sense if Ranboo was okay, even Tommy forgot to claim rent a few times which was borderline unheard of. Eventually they abandoned the game, deciding to turn in early despite the fact that it was a Friday night.__

__Techno of course, being practically nocturnal, did not go to bed like the others when he retired to his room, instead attempting to continue his rereading of The Art of War. He couldn’t seem to focus however and it certainly wasn’t the quality of the book that was stopping him from properly enjoying it. It was worry. That was why, when muffled commotion could be heard through Ranboo’s door, he was the first one out of his room and into the one across the hall. When he burst through the door, the first thing he saw was Ranboo curled up on the floor. He was shaking and sobbing, eyes trained straight in front of him, glassy and unseeing. Techno knelt beside him,_ _

__“Ranboo? Ranboo can you hear me?”_ _

__He asked softly. Ranboo let out a shaky breath but he managed a small nod,_ _

__“Good, I need you to breathe with me okay? That’s it, in and out, in and out…”_ _

__Techno moved away as Phil finally came stumbling into the room, guiding Tommy and Wilbur away from the spot they'd taken up in the doorframe to give Ranboo some space. The three of them hovered awkwardly in the hallway as Phil talked to Ranboo. No one spoke but they were in silent agreement that they couldn’t just go back to bed. They waited until Phil emerged with Ranboo trailing behind him. He kept his head down, refusing to look at the boys as he followed Phil down the stairs. He was hardly doing great but he was okay and so the boys took that as their cue to separate back into their rooms, though none of them got much more sleep that night._ _

__Downstairs, Ranboo sat on the couch staring resolutely at his hands as Phil boiled the jug in the kitchen. He felt a pit of embarrassment settle deep in his gut._ _

_God he couldn’t make it one night in their house without ruining everything, could he? One night and he’d already disturbed all their sleep and made them comfort him all because he couldn’t last one night without a nightmare, one night without a stupid fucking panic attack._

__

__

____His breathing began to grow shallow once again as he felt his thoughts spiral away from him, until he saw a figure lean down in front of him in his blurry vision,_ _ _ _

____“You okay mate?”_ _ _ _

____Phil asked softly. He passed a warm mug to Ranboo, who gripped it like it was the only thing keeping him tethered,_ _ _ _

____“It’s alright, you’re safe.”_ _ _ _

____“I’m sorry.”_ _ _ _

____Ranboo choked out through fresh tears, Phil’s eyes widened,_ _ _ _

____“What are you sorry for?”_ _ _ _

____“I’m sorry for- for disturbing you and the others and making you look after me. I should be able to take care of myself.”_ _ _ _

____Thick waves of tears were running down Ranboo’s face and he flinched as Phil placed a gentle hand on his knee,_ _ _ _

____“Oh mate…”_ _ _ _

____Phil said quietly,_ _ _ _

____

___“You never have to apologise for that. We’re always here to help you. We _want_ to help you.”_ _ _

__

____

____

______“But- but, I should be able to look after myself!”_ _ _ _ _ _

______There was sadness in Philza’s eyes as he looked at the boy in front of him,_ _ _ _ _ _

______“You’re a sixteen year old kid, you shouldn’t have to.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Ranboo’s only response was a quiet sniffle, but his tears began to slowly dry up. And as he sipped the tea Phil had given him, his breathing was normal once more. Eventually, he quietly drifted off to sleep, curled into the corner of the couch, mug still gripped firmly in his palms._ _ _ _ _ _

______Phil finally went back up to bed when he was sure Ranboo was sleeping soundly, but he left his door wide open. Just in case._ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really intended on updating this earlier but uhhhh shit happens y'know?  
> But yeah, thank you guys for the kudos, I appreciate y'all  
> Also to the person who commented about the italics, you own my entire heart  
> Hopefully the next update will be soon because It's 1am and I feel inspired  
> But as always, stay safe ILY <3
> 
> (Also during the writing of this I misspelled Ranboo as Ranbop multiple times and for some reason that is very funny to me)

**Author's Note:**

> I literally wrote this to comfort myself through the mental breakdown school is causing me atm so yeah  
> And then I deleted everything trying to post this t w i c e  
> Also how the fuck do you do italics on ao3  
> Any feedback is loved unless it's about my use of commas (You can pry my commas from my cold dead hands)/j  
> But anyway, as always, stay safe, ILY <3 /p
> 
> (Me: Finishing the TMA fic I started posting like four moths ago < Starting a new multichapter fic in a completely different fandom)


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